On Wednesday, Mr. Draghi said different approaches by regions to vaccinate people over the age of 80 are unacceptable, adding that some people favor groups that ignore their seniors who probably claim priority based on some contractual power.
In Tuscany, one area generally admires its health care system, with only about one percent of people over the age of 800 fully vaccinated, leading to a public letter from a leading citizen.
They wrote, “Incompetence produces death.”
Matteo Villa, a researcher at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies, which studies coronavirus epidemics, said Italy’s strategy of vaccinating only health care workers first resulted in an obstacle that made the virus more deadly.
“We had a lot of older people getting vaccinated when there was a delay,” he said.
Guido Bertolaso, the former head of Italy’s civil protection agency, who now heads the vaccination campaign in Lombardy, said the country had failed to act on an emergency basis.
He blamed the pharmaceutical companies for not doing well in delivering the promised promises for Italy’s problems. “When you plan, you must know where you get the vaccine, at what time, how much, on a weekly basis.” In any case, he added, “with planning in Italy, we are not very good.”
Avoidable organizational and logistical problems have slowed the rollout and angered Italians. In the affluent northern region of Lombardy, the epicenter of Italy’s outbreak, the intensive care ward is still full of elderly and dying Italians, making it a symbol of Italy’s mistepes.
“Every time the phone rings, I hope it’s the same.” Aster Buco, 84, of Castigloin Olona in the Lombardy region, said he had registered for the vaccination two months ago, but has yet to get an appointment. She walks around the house taking her home and said she has started taking anti-anxiety pills to cope. “I really want to see my grandchildren.”
